


Atlas Cannot Stand

by AnaliseGrey



Series: It's Just a Challenge [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Oh Lance you poor thing, Torture, Whump, as they do - Freeform, the Galra being a bunch of evil meanies, though Keith doesn't have an easy time either really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 04:06:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13966983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaliseGrey/pseuds/AnaliseGrey
Summary: He and Lance had taken Red in to infiltrate a low-traffic Galra base- or at least, it wassupposedto be low-traffic; it was just their luck they’d try to hit it when some dignitary was visiting. They’d made a good show of it all things considered, but in the end they were outnumbered and overrun. Lance had been up high, covering him from a catwalk, but was surprised by sentries coming at him from both sides of the walkway; there hadn’t been anywhere for him to go, and they were on him too fast to use his jetpack. Once they had Lance, Keith had surrendered quickly, not wanting to get Lance hurt. He could still feel Red growling quietly in the back of his mind, trapped in the hangar he’d left her in when they arrived. So far, her particle barrier was holding, but she wasn’t leaving until he was, and he wasn’t leaving without Lance.





	Atlas Cannot Stand

Keith scowled at the cell door. If he could destroy it with his thoughts alone, it would already be slag on the floor.

He and Lance had taken Red in to infiltrate a low-traffic Galra base- or at least, it was  _ supposed  _ to be low-traffic; it was just their luck they’d try to hit it when some dignitary was visiting. They’d made a good show of it all things considered, but in the end they were outnumbered and overrun. Lance had been up high, covering him from a catwalk, but was surprised by sentries coming at him from both sides of the walkway; there hadn’t been anywhere for him to go, and they were on him too fast to use his jetpack. Once they had Lance, Keith had surrendered quickly, not wanting to get Lance hurt. He could still feel Red growling quietly in the back of his mind, trapped in the hangar he’d left her in when they arrived. So far, her particle barrier was holding, but she wasn’t leaving until he was, and he wasn’t leaving without Lance. 

He got up to pace, trying to get rid of some of his nervous energy and warm up. When they were captured, their outer armor had been confiscated along with their bayards and helmets.

They’d come for Lance maybe an hour ago; Lance had smiled and told him it would be ok as he was being led away, but Keith could still see the tightness around his eyes. Lance had been scared, and Keith couldn’t blame him. This wasn’t a great situation to be in, and they’d seen what the aftermath of Galran captivity looked like in Shiro. It wasn’t pretty.

The sound of the door opening startled him, and Keith immediately went on offense. A sentry came through the door, and Keith was on it before it had completely cleared the doorway. Gripping one of its arms, he twisted, pivoted, bending at the waist and threw the sentry across the small cell. Before he could turn to run out the door, there were metal hands on him, gripping tightly to the back of his neck and his shoulder. He fought and struggled hard as he could, but more hands joined in, and soon they’d borne him to the ground, pinning him. He couldn’t look with his head pressed firmly to the floor, but from the feel of it, there must have been at least 4 sentries holding him down, pinning his arms and legs. He snarled, trying to shake them loose, but their grip just tightened, and he could feel the small bones of his wrists grind as they were brought together and fastened in a set of rigid cuffs. He thought that would be it, maybe they were transferring him somewhere, but they kept him pinned, and he fought harder as they managed to fit some kind of belt around his waist, cinching it tight, and fastening his wrists to it. 

They added a few more sets of cuffs up his arms- a set at his forearms, and another that bit into his upper arms. He was grateful he was flexible as he was, or the position would have been very uncomfortable. He wondered if they were going to try using a stress position to wear him down. He remembered reading about that in one of his classes before leaving the Garrison, but hadn’t gone through the training for it; he’d been kicked out before he got that far. Before he knew it, they had his ankles cuffed the same, and they dropped him back onto the floor. He twisted, yelling at them, but they collected the sentry he’d thrown when the door first opened, and then they were gone, leaving him on the floor, alone.

Keith squirmed, trying to see how much give the restraints had. The answer was a pretty resounding ‘none’. He wriggled over towards the closest wall, trying to use the support of the wall to at least get into a seated position. He was having less luck than he’d have liked when the door opened again. This time, in addition to the sentries, an actual Galra officer came in, dragging Lance along with him.

Keith’s stomach lurched. Lance’s undersuit was ripped and torn, more than it had been before he was dragged out, with what looked like claw marks underneath. There were a number of new injuries on Lance’s face as well: his lip was split, and there was a quickly darkening bruise along his cheekbone that would be spectacular later. What had Keith worried though was that something else seemed off about Lance, but he couldn’t immediately pinpoint what. He seemed really tense, though that might have been due to the grip the Galra had on Lance’s upper arm; it was tight enough to look painful. As the soldier pulled Lance across the cell from where Keith was laying and threw him to the ground, Keith could see the sheen of sweat on Lance’s forehead. He looked a little flushed, and Keith really hoped Lance wasn’t getting sick. Lance didn’t get up from where he’d been thrown to the ground, but he did try to press himself further back, and looked like he’d be trying to crawl through the wall if it were an option. What the hell had they done to him?

“Now remember,” the Galra said, obviously directing himself toward Lance. “If you touch the light, the cuffs activate.” As he said this, a sheet of purple light came down from the ceiling, neatly dividing the cell in half, separating Keith and Lance. Now that he wasn’t being moved, Keith could see Lance was trembling, a fine tremor that seemed to move through his whole body with occasional larger flinches.

“What the fuck did you do to him?”

The Galra spared a brief glance over his shoulder at Keith, then turned back to Lance, a smile evident in his voice when he spoke.

“Perhaps a demonstration is in order.”

Keith saw Lance’s eyes go wide a second before the soldier grabbed onto Lance’s wrist and yanked it towards the divider, all the while Lance was frantically pulling back, getting more and more agitated the closer to the light he got.

“No! Please, don’t-”

The soldier moved Lance’s hand so it brushed the divider, and Keith’s world ignited.

When he was little, Keith had accidentally touched part of a live outlet wire. It had lasted only seconds before he was pulled back, his foster mom frantic. It had felt unlike anything he’d ever experienced before or since, the zap of electricity a unique kind of pain.

This was so much worse.

It was like fire sparking off his nerves, spreading out from where the cuffs held him, and he was vaguely aware of thrashing uncontrollably until it stopped. He hadn’t realized he’d been screaming, but his breaths were ragged and painful in his throat, and he could feel the sound more as an absence when it cut off. For a moment, all he could do was blink, unable to process anything else. 

“As I said,” the Galra tossed Lance back against the wall on his side of the divider, “Touch the light, his cuffs activate. The longer you take to talk to me, the closer the light will get to you. How long do you think he would survive constant activation? You humans are stubborn creatures, but not so hardy as all that. I await your compliance.”

The soldier stood and swept out the door, the lock clanging into place as soon as the door had shut behind the sentries.

For a few minutes, there was relative quiet, just the sounds of their harsh breathing breaking the silence. Finally, Keith had recovered enough to move to face Lance again. God, everything hurt now in a weird, staticy sort of way. Working past it, Keith finally got himself turned, and got a better look at Lance.

He didn’t look great. Lance was still trembling all over, though every once in awhile a larger spasm would rip through him. Lance’s breaths were harsh and quick, and he looked like a stiff breeze would have knocked him over if he hadn’t also looked so tense.

“Lance...hey, Lance, look at me. What happened, what did they do?”

Another spasm ripped through Lance’s shoulders, and he pulled his knees tight to his chest, wrapping his arms around them like he was trying to keep from shaking apart.

“They, um, they wanted to know where Blue was. They know Red’s here, but weren’t sure if Blue was. But I wouldn’t tell them where she was. They in-injec-,” Lance stuttered a moment, his whole body convulsing before he was able to get the words out. “Injected me, with...I think it was a stimulant. A really strong one.” Lance scrunched his eyes shut, and Keith could see Lance’s knuckles go white as he shook again.

Keith snarled, and he could feel Red echo it in his head. How dare they...how  **_dare_ ** they…

A moment later Lance whined, the sound laced with panic. Keith lifted his head up to see what had happened and realized the light barrier had moved. It was now a foot closer to Lance, leaving him maybe 5 or 6 feet before it reached him. Keith wasn’t sure how long had passed since they’d brought Lance back- maybe 20 minutes?- but there was no way to know if the time intervals were going to be uniform. Likely intentional; one more way to fuck with them.

“I’m sorry…” Another spasm snapped Lance’s head to the side, and Keith winced in sympathy.

“Why?”

“I can’t k-keep still, I know- I know you get annoyed when I’m r-restless.”

For a second, Keith couldn’t even formulate an answer.

“Lance, I’m not going to get  _ mad  _ at you over this, it’s not under your control.”

“Y-yeah, but-” Lance cut off with a choked noise as his whole body convulsed, and he squeezed his arms tighter around his knees. The muscles in his arms and neck were corded, rigid, and Keith was concerned Lance was going to hurt himself soon if this didn’t stop. A minute passed, then two, and Lance seemed to get himself back under control, taking a shaky breath.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Keith’s heart clenched. “Lance, you’re not-”

“But I  _ will _ .” Lance’s eyes squeezed shut, then he looked up at Keith with a heartbroken expression.

“I can’t-I can’t tell them where Blue is. And the light is going to keep getting closer. And I won’t be able to stop it-” Lance took another ragged breath. “Even if it’s not on top of me, I won’t-I won’t be able to help hitting it. I can’t-” Lance’s body jerked hard enough that he lost his grip around his knees, and he braced against the wall to keep from falling over, and suddenly Keith  _ got  _ it. Lance was trying not to move. Lance, having been tortured then shot full of some alien jacked-up version of amphetamines against his will, was doing his level best to keep himself still, even though his body was tearing itself apart, must have been screaming at him to just MOVE, but he  _ wouldn’t _ , because he might hurt Keith. Keith seethed, and swore he was going to destroy this base with his bare hands if he had to; Red was in perfect agreement.

“Lance, if you need to move, that’s ok. I can take it.”

Before Lance could answer, the barrier jumped again, moving two feet closer this time instead of the one it had moved before. Lance scrambled back up to sitting, drawing his legs as close as he could, and pressed back hard against the wall, eyes wide and looking like he might start to hyperventilate.

“No. I can’t- I won’t, it’s terrible, I won’t do that to you, Keith, I _ won’t _ …”

Lance was vehement, like he was speaking from personal experience, and Keith felt his stomach twist.

“Lance. How do you know how bad it is?”

“They- they used it on me first; wanted me to know what I was doing to you if I k-kept refusing.”

“ **No** .”

Lance flinched back from the force of Keith’s voice, and Keith was sorry to have startled him, but this was bullshit.

“No, Lance,  _ you _ are not doing this.  _ They  _ are. Nothing about this is your fault. Whatever happens, none of it is your fault. If you need to move, you move. If you hit the light without meaning to, or when it gets too close to avoid, that’s ok. Yeah it’s going to suck, but I won’t blame you. No matter what, I need you to understand that this isn’t your fault. Got it?”

Lance looked torn, and Keith was sympathetic, he might have felt the same way if their positions were reversed, but this situation was already fucked up without unwarranted guilt muddying it further.

“Lance-”

“Yeah.” Lance swallowed, head ticking to the side. “Yeah, I-”

The light jumped, catching the toe of Lance’s right foot in the field.

Keith lost time to the flare of purple fire licking over him. When he came back to himself, his muscles were twitching, and he knew he was going to have bruises from fighting the restraints. There was the taste of copper on his tongue, and he made a face and spat blood onto the floor. Moving his face around, he could feel where his lip had split; he must have hit his face on the floor.

“Keith…Keith  _ please... _ answer me?”

Lance sounded scared. With effort, Keith managed to lift his head up and looked over; Lance was standing now, muscles taut, back pressed as close to the cell wall as he could. There was about a foot and a half of space between Lance’s chest and where the light barrier now sat. Lance’s eyes were wide, his gaze flicking back and forth between Keith and the barrier. Keith wasn’t sure Lance was even daring to breathe.

“I’m...I’m ok, Lance, I’m fine.”

“No you’re  _ not _ .” Lance hit his fists back against the wall in frustration. “You don’t know how you  _ look  _ when you...how you  _ sound… _ ”

Keith tried to take a deep breath, and it was more shuddering than he’d like, but it did help. “I told you, Lance, I can take it. Don’t tell them anything. The others will be here soon, they’ll get us out of here. We can make it ‘til then.”

Lance responded with a shaky nod, hands fisted at his sides.

Time passed, and the barrier moved. 

The barrier was six inches from Lance’s chest now. Keith could tell whatever drug they’d given Lance was starting to wear off, the muscle spasms becoming fewer and farther between. This led to a different problem, though.

Lance was still standing, if barely, keeping himself pressed back, but Keith wasn’t sure how long he was going to stay upright.

“Lance, you need to talk to me.”

Lance’s head jerked up from where it had started to sag down toward his chest, blinking slowly.

“What?”

“You need to talk to me. Keep yourself awake.”

Lance took a breathe, let it out. 

“So pushy. Yeah, okay. What do you want me to talk about?”

“Tell me about your family.”

Lance’s lips quirked up in a tired smile.

“Oh man, are we even gonna be here that long? Cause I don’t know if we have time for that.”

Keith dredged up a smile of his own.

“Humor me.”

Lance was part-way through describing his sister (“seriously, Veronica shot up like a bean sprout over the summer. She’s two years younger than me, and almost taller than me…”) when the barrier moved again, only a few scant inches from Lance’s chest.

“ _ Shit _ …”

“Lance, it’s ok, just keep talking to me.”

“Keith, I don’t know how much longer I can-”

Lance must have taken too deep a breath, or the the light moved, or  _ something _ , because the barrier triggered and Keith was gone. He came back to himself long enough to hear Lance yelling his name, and it sounded like he was crying, but before Keith could parse that the fire engulfed him again.

It didn’t stop quickly like before. It kept going, and Keith had enough of himself left to wonder if they were actually going to kill him this way, if Lance was going to have to watch him die.

When it stopped, Keith didn’t notice. His muscles had seized up painfully, still jerking uncontrollably, the sound of blood rushing in his ears so loud he couldn’t make out anything else.

He was sure he’d been screaming again, his throat felt like he’d been swallowing glass. A hand landed on his shoulder and he flinched hard, trying to kick out, but between his lack of motor control and the restraints, he wasn’t very effective.

“Hey, easy, easy, sorry I startled you.”

Keith released a breath and let himself sag back as much as the cuffs and his twitchy muscles would allow.

“Shiro-”

“Yeah, it’s me. You don’t sound so great, how’re you holding up?”

Now that he’d had a tic to focus, Keith could make out Shiro bent over him, hands landing quick and light over Keith’s body, checking for injury.

“I’m-” Keith paused to cough, trying to clear his throat. “I’m fine, but Lance...?”

Shiro’s gaze flicked up and across the room, away from where Keith was facing, then back down to Keith.

“Lance’ll be okay, Hunk’s got him. Let’s get you out of these cuffs, and then we’ve gotta go, ok?”

Keith nodded clumsily, and Shiro spared a quick smile for him before helping Keith flip over carefully onto his stomach.

“Hold as still as you can.”

Shiro’s robotic arm made quick work of the restraints, and there was a brief moment of relief before the pain of moving strained muscles and overextended limbs hit. Keith groaned as Shiro helped him shakily to his feet. Shiro looked over Keith’s shoulder.

“You got him, Hunk?”

“Yeah, yeah I got him, but we should go, Pidge’s distraction will only hold so long.”

Keith turned toward Hunk, who had a boneless Lance in his arms in a bridal carry. Hunk caught his eye. “He’s out right now, but he’s good to move. We gotta go.”

Keith nodded decisively and turned to follow Shiro, but his knees buckled on the first step. He tried to reassure Shiro he was okay, but the words wouldn’t come out right, and before he knew it, everything had gone dark.

~ ^ ~

Lance came to with a gasp, stumbling forward as the cryopod opened; not for the first time, he thought having them upright was a terrible design. Warm hands caught him, helping to guide him down to sit on on the steps in front of the pod; the person sat next to him, a solid warmth pressed against his side.

Lance rubbed his hands over his face. “How long was I in?”

“Just shy of 2 quintants. How’re you feeling?”

Lance looked over and there was Keith, looking a lot better than he had the last time Lance had seen him. The lines of pain around his eyes were gone, and his lip was healed, though he looked more anxious now.

“I’m...fine?” And he did feel ok; he was still wobbly from just getting out of the pod, but overall alright. 

Keith didn’t look convinced.

“Are you sure?”

“Ugh, yes I’m sure; nothing a bowl of goo and a nap won’t fix. Wait...don’t tell me you were  _ worried _ ?” Lance was trying for lighthearted and joking, but if anything Keith’s face grew more serious.

“Your heart almost stopped, Lance.”

Lance blinked.

“What?”

Keith looked down at his hands where they were folded in his lap.

“Your heart...the physical trauma, plus whatever they gave you, it was too much stress and it damaged your heart. The pod healed it, it’s not a problem now, but before we got you back here it was...it was kind of close.”

Lance looked down at his own hands. He’d almost died.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’.”

They were quiet, and Lance was going to attribute it to pod fog that it took this long to think to ask.

“Wait, are  _ you  _ ok?”

Keith gave him a confused look. “Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

“I...I thought you were dying.” Lance took a deep breath, letting it out slow to gather himself before he looked over at Keith. “The cuffs kept triggering no matter what I tried, and I couldn’t make it stop. I thought it was going to kill you.” The ‘ _ -and it would have been my fault _ .’ was unspoken.

Keith bumped his shoulder against Lance’s. “I told you, none of that was your fault. We did the best we could under the circumstances. That’s all any of us can do. You didn’t tell them where Blue was, and the others got us and Red out, just like I said.”

Lance rolled his eyes, lips quirking up in a smile before bumping Keith back. “Yeah yeah, you always have to be right, don’t you?”

Keith responded with a tentative smile, the anxious look melting away. “I don’t always  _ have  _ to be right, I just  _ am _ .”

Lance sputtered in mock outrage, and Keith’s tentative smile grew into a grin; he got up and took Lance’s hand to pull him to standing. “C’mon, let’s get you some goo before you fall over.”

“ _ You’ll _ fall over.”, Lance muttered, though he let Keith steady him as they headed toward the door out of the pod room.

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is ever so loosely inspired by, of all things, an MCU fic I read once where a stimulant was used as a torture method, though not in the same way. As you can see, it made something of an impression.  
> I like to think that despite their bickering, at this point in their friendship Lance and Keith have matured somewhat, and would be super supportive of each other (even when not in dire circumstances). And of course they'd worry about each other when they *are* in dire circumstances, so...
> 
> Title taken from a piece of [this poem](http://fairytalesques.tumblr.com/post/110937349565/your-crown-is-burning-gold-and-blood-dripping).
> 
> Come find me on tumblr to say hi on my writing blog [Analisegrey](https://analisegrey.tumblr.com/), or at my main fandom blog, [Kitkatcabbit](http://kitkatcabbit.tumblr.com/) :)


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